Joe Biden wins Idaho primary as string of victories continues – live | US news

Joe Biden leads Bernie Sanders in Idaho by about 6 points, with 80% of precincts reporting.

Sanders’ loss in Idaho is another blow on a generally disappointing night for the Vermont senator.

Not only did Sanders win the Idaho caucuses in a landslide in 2016, but western states have also been one of his few strong points in recent weeks.

Biden’s win in Idaho underscores how Sanders’ path to the nomination has narrowed to the point that his critics are already declaring the primary to be all but over.

The AP has declared Joe Biden the winner of the primary in Idaho, where polls closed about two hours ago.

Bernie Sanders won the state in 2016, when Idaho used a caucus system, by about 56 points.

Trump once again accused Elizabeth Warren of costing Bernie Sanders the Democratic nomination.

Referring to Warren as “Pocahontas,” Trump tweeted that the Massachusetts senator had “destroyed the campaign of Bernie Sanders” by not dropping out sooner.

Warren dropped out of the race last Thursday after a disappointing performance on Super Tuesday.

Some of Sanders’ supporters had called on her to drop out sooner, as moderate candidates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar withdrew to endorse Joe Biden.

But Sanders himself did not publicly pressure Warren to drop out before Super Tuesday, and it’s unclear whether Warren’s earlier departure would have helped Sanders in states like Michigan, where he is currently losing by 15 points.

Some of Bernie Sanders’ allies told PBS they believe the candidate still has a “slim path” to the nomination, despite his disappointing performance against Joe Biden tonight.

Sanders will likely make that argment himself on Sunday, when he is scheduled to face off against Biden in a debate in Phoenix.

However, it would take a truly catastrophic debate performance on Biden’s part for Sanders to have any hope of a campaign reset.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the four states voting next Tuesday — Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Arizona — are all states Sanders lost in 2016, likely making it difficult for him to regain momentum in the next batch of contests.

Bernie Sanders’ poor performance tonight has sparked some reconsideration of his 2016 campaign.

Sanders narrowly won the 2016 Michigan primary against Hillary Clinton, but Joe Biden was quickly declared the winner there tonight.

With 83% of precincts reporting, Biden is beating Sanders by about 15 points in Michigan, where 125 pledged delegates are up for grabs.

Sanders’ underperformance has led a number of political commentators to suggest his 2016 Michigan win had more to do with disapproval of Clinton than Sanders’ strength among Rust Belt voters, which the Vermont senator’s allies have frequently boasted about.

So this has been an overall terrible night for Sanders. Not only is his opponent effectively declaring victory in the noninating contest, but the story of his 2016 campaign is also being rewritten in a much less flattering light.

The Guardian’s Hallie Golden reports from Seattle, Washington:

As initial results showed Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in a very tight race for Washington State delegates, Shaun Scott, Sanders’ local field director, alternated between watching results and saying encouraging remarks to election staff and volunteers.

“We got this,” he said to a few of the people who had gathered at a bar in Seattle to watch the results on a large television screen.

Scott highlighted the fact that election officials in Washington reported that 60,000 voters didn’t select a political party on their ballot, which could have invalidated those votes. He said the campaign team is prepared to go out this weekend and next to cure those ballots.

“Yet another reason for people to check out installment number two of the Washington state primary,” he told the Guardian. “Episode one was a cliff hanger. But we think we’re going to come to a pretty definitive conclusion here in episode two.”

Washington state is another example of how turnout often spikes when a caucus becomes a primary.

In 2016, when Washington held caucuses, roughly 230,000 people participated. (Bernie Sanders won that race by about 45 points.)

In comparison, more than a million votes have already been counted tonight in the state’s primary, with Sanders and Joe Biden running neck and neck.

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are neck and neck in Washington state, where 89 pledged delegates are up for grabs.

With 67% of precincts reporting, Sanders leads Biden by just 0.2 points, or about 2,000 votes.

Considering the narrow margin and Washington’s high rates of mail-in voting, it may take days to know the winner:

Even though a number of Bernie Sanders’ allies insist the race for the nomination is not over, some progressive groups are already looking ahead to November after their preferred candidate’s disappointing performance tonight.

The political director of the group CPD Action, which endorsed Sanders in December, said the Vermont senator “has proven that his voice and his movement are vital to any success in November.”

“We are committed to the Bernie Sanders campaign and the values that it represents,” Natalia Salgado added in the statement. “We will continue to push this agenda forward in the primaries, the general and beyond. Our North Star is to defeat Donald Trump and we are prepared to do what it takes.”

Adam Green — the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which initially endorsed Elizabeth Warren — said Sanders and Joe Biden should still debate on Sunday.

“Not because it will likely change the outcome, but because in order to not change the outcome Biden has to withstand one-on-one scrutiny similar to a debate with Trump,” Green told the Guardian.

All of this indicates that progressive groups have little hope of Sanders turning back the tide of momentum that appears to be carrying Biden to the nomination.

As Joe Biden looks ahead to the general election, Bernie Sanders’ allies are sending a very different message: this race is far from over.

From congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, one of Sanders’ top surrogates:

But congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another top Sanders surrogate, acknowledged on Instagram that this was a “tough night electorally”.

Joe Biden won praise for his remarks tonight in Philadelphia, which felt like the victory speech of a presumptive nominee.

The candidate spoke to a small group after having to cancel his Cleveland rally due to coronavirus. and he commended Bernie Sanders’ supporters for “their tireless energy and their passion.”

From a former senior Obama adviser:

From Kamala Harris’ former communications director:

From an MSNBC analyst:

Joe Biden’s staffers in Philadelphia, where the candidate just spoke, are celebrating like this race is over.

Biden has already won three primaries tonight – Mississippi, Missouri and the key state of Michigan.

The former vice-president is also currently running even with Sanders in Washington state’s primary, while Sanders won Washington’s 2016 caucuses in a landslide.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign said that he still intends to participate in Sunday’s debate against Joe Biden, although the candidate will not speak tonight.

Sanders is already facing some calls to drop out of the race and allow Democrats to focus on the general election against Trump after his disappointing performance tonight.

Speaking at a Philadelphia event tonight, Biden himself appeared to be pivoting to the general election, thanking Sanders’ supporters for their “tireless energy” and saying they would work together to defeat Trump.

However, Sanders seems unlikely to drop out anytime soon, considering he kept his 2016 campaign going until shortly before the party’s nominating convention.

It is 11 pm ET, so polls have now closed in Idaho and Washington state, the last two states holding primaries tonight.

Bernie Sanders won both states in landslides in 2016, but that was when they held caucuses, rather than the primaries they held today.

Sanders has consistently performed better in caucuses, so the new voting system could put him at a disadvantage.

Joe Biden is addressing a small group at an event in Philadelphia after his strong primary performance tonight.

Sounding very much like a presidential nominee, Biden warned that another four years of Trump’s policies would do irreparable damage to the country.

“Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy made America alone,” Biden said of the president’s foreign policy.

The former vice-president used the setting of the speech, Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, to extoll the virtues of American government.

“Our very democracy is at stake in this election,” Biden said, repeating his common campaign line that America is in a “battle for the soul of this nation”.

“There’s not a single thing we cannot do if we do it together,” Biden said.

Joe Biden has taken the podium at his Philadelphia event, addressing a small group after already securing three primary wins tonight.

“Although there’s a way to go, it looks like we’re going to have another good night,” Biden said.

The former vice president then appeared to pivot to the general election, applauding Bernie Sanders’ supporters for “their tireless energy and their passion.”

“We share a common goal, and together we’ll defeat Donald Trump,” Biden said. “We’re going to bring this nation together.”

The unity push sent a clear message that the Biden camp considers the nominating contest to be all but over.

The Guardian’s Hallie Golden reports from Washington state:

A small handful of Bernie Sanders campaign staff and volunteers sat around talking, playing pool and watching presidential election results on a large television tuned to CNN in a bar in Seattle.

The unofficial gathering was organized last minute after a primary-night event that was expected to see as many as 400 people was canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Shaun Scott, Sanders’ field director in Washington, told the Guardian that they made sure not to advertise the event or even post about it on social media because of the concern with bringing large groups of people together in a state at the center of this outbreak.

“We want to make sure that at the same time that we want to celebrate all the work that we’ve done up to this point and through the March 10^th primary, that we’re not endangering people’s health frankly,” he said.

Health officials in King County, which includes Seattle, have recommended that everyone should avoid crowds and being in large groups of people in spaces that are poorly ventilated. As of Tuesday, the state has 162 confirmed cases of coronavirus across eight counties, including 22 deaths.

Joe Biden’s campaign has also opted not to hold any primary night events in Washington, and has focused on engaging voters remotely, including through virtual phone banking and tele town halls.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign has announced the presidential candidate will not speak tonight after losing the key state of Michigan to Joe Biden.

Sanders traveled back to his home state of Vermont tonight after having to cancel his rally in Cleveland, Ohio, due to concerns about coronavirus.

Although Sanders will not address supporters or the press tonight, the candidate is already facing calls to drop out, as some Democratic strategists declare Biden to be the presumptive nominee.

Bernie Sanders is at risk of falling below 15% in Mississippi, which would shut him out from winning any statewide delegates there.

With 72% of Mississippi precincts reporting, Joe Biden is at 81%, and Sanders is at 15%.

Sanders will likely win some of Mississippi’s district-level delegates regardless, but if he cannot grab any statewide delegates there, it will be another bad headline for him on a generally disappointing night.